


Parent-Teacher Night

by TruebornAlpha



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 12:16:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11874207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TruebornAlpha/pseuds/TruebornAlpha
Summary: When Shiro had asked him to join him on his daughter's Parent-Teacher Conference and told him to wear something nice, Keith was too focused on the first part to really understand what the second part meant.





	Parent-Teacher Night

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paintstroke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintstroke/gifts).



> Thank you so much, Paintstroke! Check out her amazing work [here](http://archiveofourown.org/users/paintstroke/pseuds/paintstroke)!
> 
> This is an epilogue of sorts to our fic, _[Speed Racers](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8828404/chapters/20240035)_. You do not need to have read it to understand this fic, just know that Mei is Shiro's adopted daughter, and Keith has recently come out of a divorce with his husband, Quinn.
> 
> Other fics in this verse include _[The Accident.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11903613)_

Keith had met many obstacles in his life and made just as many missteps, but he could honestly say he’d never met one quite like this. In his finest suit, freshly polished shoes and one of only three ties he owned, Keith stood in the center of dozens of paper mache models of the solar system, all bathed in flickering fluorescent light, painfully over-dressed and aggressively out of place. When Shiro had asked him to join him on Mei’s Parent-Teacher Conference and told him to wear something nice, Keith was too focused on the first part to really understand what the second part meant.

It sounded important. It still did, but Keith couldn’t be sure. He’d never been in a relationship with someone who had kids, and his one serious relationship had ended like a car crash. All he knew was that he wanted to be in Shiro’s life for a very long time, and Mei was part of a deal Keith had been more than happy to make. So when Shiro said nice, Keith went for nice.

Now he looked like some kind of lost waiter. He was lost in a sea of far more prepared parents, chewing the heads off his animal crackers and sipping something fizzy and bright that tasted like sugar and the color orange. He was pretty sure Mei had made him try it before.

It was a lot to deal with.

There were meetings and schedules and lines, and normally Keith was fine with those, would even be more fine considering that Shiro was by his side, but Shiro had been whisked away for the third time by another parent and-or teacher. Shiro had always had a way with people, and he was actively involved in Mei’s life. Everywhere Keith turned, someone was calling Shiro’s name or needed his attention. There were field trips he didn’t know about, assignments people had already volunteered Shiro for, and too many names thrown at him to remember. Keith didn’t like to be caught unawares. He liked it even less when it affected those he cared about.

It was as if he’d missed something big, or like he wasn’t doing enough of what he should be. It hit too close to the first time Quinn had stormed out of their apartment. Keith had revisited that feeling again and again as their divorce came and went, and even if it was gentler now, it left him glaring over the lid of his cup as he downed his sorrows in unidentified bubbles.

Suddenly a small hand reached up, curling into the crook of his arm.

He looked down to find Mei, still quiet and reserved. They’d just come out of a meeting with her Social Studies teacher. It hadn’t gone well.

“Cookie?” He asked, holding out a giraffe. She nodded glumly and shoved the entire thing in her mouth. He gave her an elephant next.

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time to turn things around. I’ll help you study for your next test, okay?” He promised, but the little girl just focused on her cookie.

“Dad’s gonna be upset.” She said so quietly that it broke Keith’s heart and he pulled her into a hug. “I don’t want to disappoint him.” Her lip quivered, the warning signs of a full meltdown.

“Just breathe, it’s going to be okay.” Keith rubbed little circles against her back to calm Mei down. “He loves you a lot, he just wants you to do well. You know that he’ll just want to help, and I will, too. You can do it, next time you’re gonna get an A!” 

Part of him wondered if it sounded as forced as it felt, but Keith meant every word. He wasn’t used to being such an outspoken cheerleader for anyone before. He would have done anything for Shiro. It had been that way since they were in the Garrison together, but now he was championing history tests to keep tiny children from crying. Things certainly had changed.

Mei rubbed her sleeve across her nose and perked up slightly and Keith felt a burst of pride. Not at himself and how he’d grown, but for her. Even rattled and sad, she fought through it to smile, just like her Dad. Keith didn’t think he’d ever loved anyone so much, and now there were two of them. It was amazing and terrifying all at once.

“Let’s go find Shiro. Have you seen your Dad anywhere?”

She nodded and pointed towards the math room before twining a tiny, sticky hand into his. “I’m doing good in math. I like numbers.”

“I know you do, you’re our little engineer! You’re going to be working at the Garrison before you hit sixth grade if you keep this up.”

Mei snickered, and as patronizing as only a child could be, she corrected him. “No, Keith. You have to pass high school first.”

It was a debate she and Shiro had obviously had before. The smug pride she carried probably meant they’d had it a lot.

Mei licked her fingers clean, then absent-mindedly started playing with the end Keith’s tie. It was artfully decorated with tiny swords, and she made swish swish noises under her breath. Good. Someone had to like the damn thing. It was the first time all day Keith was glad he’d worn a tie.

They made their way to a classroom that was covered in an obnoxious amount of yellow, and a lot of math signs with smiley faces on them. Also crepe paper. Keith never knew why there was always so much crepe paper in these things. There were a line of projects on the corner of the room, little 3D holographic models in different color schemes, and he was about to ask Mei about them when she tensed.

“Oh no.”

“What?” Keith asked, almost too defensively.

It seemed to comfort Mei, though. She settled against him and dropped her voice into what she thought was a whisper, “It’s  _him_.”

She was looking at her dad, standing on the far end of the room. If he hadn’t been obstructed by a cupboard covered in colored string, Keith would have noticed him sooner. Shiro wasn’t alone.

He vaguely recognized the man, one of the other students’ dads. The guy lived around Shiro’s neighborhood too, but Keith couldn’t quite place him. It was obvious that they knew each other. Shiro was comfortable enough to laugh as they chatted, even if Keith was too far away to overhear them. Okay, a little bit too comfortable, he thought with a shock as the man reached out to put a hand on Shiro’s arm.

Jealousy flared inside of him, burning hot and overwhelming as he openly stared at the pair. He wouldn’t expect Shiro to return the attention, but that didn’t mean he trusted anyone else. Keith knew he shouldn’t feel so insecure, but it was hard to feel stable in a relationship when his last one had failed so spectacularly, even if it was with his best friend. He’d thought everything had been fine before, but he’d just been unwilling to see the problems. What if he was just being blind now?

Mei didn’t look any happier than he did. “He’s Ryan’s Dad, he’s a big jerk!”

“Ryan or his Dad?”

“Yes! I don’t like him, he’s always trying to talk to Dad when he jogs in the morning, I can see him.”

Keith made a face. He’d been finding excuses not to join Shiro on his too-early morning runs, but he hadn’t realized that there was someone in the neighborhood lying in wait every morning. Was it something serious? Shiro had never mentioned it before…was he hiding something?

No, that was ridiculous. Keith knew he was crossing a line now. It was just harder to shake away the last of his worries. He trusted Shiro, but at the time, he thought he’d trusted Quinn, too, and he’d only married one of them. He didn’t think Quinn had ever cheated on him, but sometimes, when his jibes had gotten too pointed, Keith had wondered.

“He has a dumb tie.”

Keith didn’t realize he’d spoken out loud until Mei giggled.

“Dumb tie.” She repeated under her breath, doing one of those snorty inhales that kids did when they had too many words and were trying to breathe in while speaking. “Bet if you dropped a glue balloon on it, it’d pfffwww.”

She gestured impressively with her hands. Keith nodded in understanding, but he quietly made a note to ask Shiro if he knew anything about balloon warfare. “Do you have a glue balloon around?”

“Maybe.” She sniffed. “Oh. Oh! Maybe I’ll distract and you can drop it down his pants!”

“That is diabolical.” Keith said, his expression completely deadpan, but Mei cackled anyway. They were getting closer, and Ryan’s Dad’s dumb tie looked dumber up close. He leaned in as Shiro spoke, clearly captivated, and Keith could sympathize. He’d been in that position countless times, and Shiro was -

Oh.

“… and he’s been amazing with Mei. I don’t know how I got by without him, but yeah, I’m sure Keith’ll love to drop by the block party if he’s not working.”

Shame flushed over his face followed by a healthy dose of guilt. His old insecurities never went away, but Shiro wasn’t Quinn. This wasn’t the same relationship. Even he wasn’t the same. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he’d gotten older and he’d changed. He actually looked forward to family dinners and Sunday trips to the children’s museum as much as he did racing hovercrafts and chasing his adrenaline high.

This was more than love now, this was family. His first ever. They weren’t going to turn their backs on him for some overly attentive neighbor in a stupid tie.

That glue balloon still did sound like a good idea.

He would have tried to slink away before Shiro noticed him, but that was something the old Keith did. That running away from things every time he didn’t want to face how he felt. This Keith took a breath, held on to Mei’s hand, and headed over with a smile.

“What’s this about a block party?”

There was no mistaking the absolute pleasure on Shiro’s face and Keith’s heart skipped a beat. He was never going to get used to the completely unabashed way Shiro looked at him. Shiro slung an arm across his shoulders and pulled his daughter into a hug between them. “Oh, I was just talking about how you might want to come to our annual block party this weekend. It’ll be great, they won’t let me anywhere near the grill after what happened last time.”

“What happened last time?”

“The fire trucks came!” Mei said gleefully. “Dad burned down Mr. Miller’s bushes.”

“I- They were just a little singed.” Shiro tried to defend himself, but the back of his neck had flushed a deep pink.

Ryan’s Dad laughed, but he still gave Shiro a considering once-over. “That’s okay. You can bring us a salad this time.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Keith piped up, almost too easily. “The last time Shiro tried chopping vegetables, someone ended up in the emergency room.”

“Hey, that was a long time ago, and Matt was  _fine_ ,” Shiro rushed to defend himself, but his blush had darkened across his chest and spread across his cheeks, and as Ryan’s Dad laughed, Keith squeezed Shiro’s hand like he could prove he wasn’t going anywhere.

Across the room, a tweedy woman in a bright green shirt stepped out of a nearby classroom, and Ryan’s Dad looked up in earnest. “We’re next. It was nice meeting you Keith, hope to see you on Saturday, and you.” He turned to Shiro with a wry grin. “I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”

Shiro groaned, but he waved off the invitation. Keith didn’t know what it meant that Shiro’s grip tightened around his shoulder.

Shiro scooped Mei up into his arms and kissed her until she giggled. He knew right away that Mei had been unhappy, he noticed everything and offered his support without anyone ever having to ask. It was one of the things Keith loved about him the most.

This was stupid, he was being an idiot even if he wasn’t sure how to stop himself. “So, you’re meeting him tomorrow?” Keith tried to sound as neutral as possible and Shiro chuckled.

“Yeah, his son Ryan likes to run with me down to the end of the block in the morning. His Dad is always there in his front yard to cheer him on and I make sure he gets back home before the rest of my run. He’s only Mei’s age.”

Mei scrunched her face up and stuck out her tongue. “Ryan’s the worst.”

“Wait,  _Ryan_  is the one who always tries to talk to you when you run? Mei said it was his Dad!”

“I did not, it was Ryan. Who is the worst!” Mei rolled her eyes like it was obvious and Keith felt even more like an idiot. Shiro gave him a half-smile and set his daughter on her feet.

“Hey baby girl, I saw Zhang in the art room. They’re making pictures for the parents, how about you make one for me and Keith?”

“Okay.” She hesitated before the truth blurted out of her mouth. Even if she wanted to be deceptive, she was still Shiro’s daughter. “I didn’t do good on my last social studies test. Are you mad?”

“No, I’m not mad, but we’re gonna talk about how we can find a better way to study. And maybe a little less computer time until we do better on the next test?”

Mei looked disappointed, but gave her Dad one quick hug before running off to join her friend. Shiro smiled at her before gently punching Keith in the shoulder. “Okay, out with it. What’s going on with you, you’re acting like you want to run. Was the social studies meeting that terrible?”

“It’s nothing.” Keith said reflexively, but Shiro’s was still watching him with those gentle eyes. He leaned in close, kissing the crown of Keith’s head, and Keith sighed, not for the first time wishing the night was done. “I know it’s nothing, but I got worried over those morning runs. And I know, I know you wouldn’t. That’s what makes this so stupid.”

“Hey… I’m not going anywhere.” Shiro promised, and his right hand found Keith’s, metal sliding against skin as their fingers tangled. “You know I love you right? Just you.”

“I do.”

Shiro still preened at that. Keith knew it wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, those little declarations would stop feeling like a cold water bath, and settle into something warmer, like old socks that were frayed at the edges. Those were Keith’s favorite kind. He was pretty sure he still had a few left over from their Garrison days. He knew he still had his old red jacket. He was kind of excited for it.

“It’s okay to feel that way. Everyone does sometimes. Ryan probably knows how to cook better than both of us, who wouldn’t?” Shiro murmured, just to make Keith laugh. “But if I can help, I want to. Because I’m not going anywhere, and I don’t think you know how badly I plan on holding on.”

“I trust you, you know? I do. I want you to know that.” Keith tucked himself into Shiro’s side. “I know you’re not going anywhere, this is all my hang up. I just-, I never thought I’d be happy like this. Sometimes I’m not sure I deserve it.” Keith waited for Shiro to dismiss him, tell him not to worry or that he was being stupid, but Shiro never did. Instead, Shiro squeezed him tighter.

“Then I’m going to keep telling you that you deserve happiness until you can believe it too. Deal?”

Keith let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Deal.”

“Dad! Keith!” Mei yelled from across the hall, holding up a picture she’d drawn for the both of them. As soon as she lifted it up off the table, glitter pouring off of the paper and onto her shirt. Shiro groaned, everything they owned was going to be covered in glitter for the next week. “I made you a picture.”

She hopped out of her seat and raced over, proudly giving her picture to her Dad. “That’s you and that’s Keith and that’s me! Our family. Do you like it?”

Shiro beamed as Keith felt something catch in his throat before Keith grabbed Mei, who squealed as he tossed her up in the air. “I love it, glitter monster!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can find Dans [here.](http://itdans.tumblr.com/)  
> Rune's tumblr is [here](http://runicscribbles.tumblr.com/) and twitter is [here.](http://twitter.com/runicscribbles)
> 
> Please comment if you enjoyed! Come say hello. :)


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